The Australian Rugby Union has offered Chris Latham, who is thought by many to be the world's leading full-back, a two-year contract to keep him in his home country until 2010. The 32-year-old, who plays for the Queensland Reds in the Super 14 and has 78 Wallaby caps, has also received lucrative offers to play in Europe.

"We believe the offer we have put to Chris is a competitive one and we are hopeful it will be accepted," said Pat Howard, the former Leicester coach who is now manager of the ARU's high performance unit. "We understand Chris has been fielding some very lucrative offers from rugby clubs in the UK but we are very keen to see him continue his representative career in Australia and hope this new two-year deal convinces him to stay."

Ulster and Bristol are among the sides chasing a man who has played in three World Cups, including the Wallabies' win in 1999, having recovered from a serious knee injury sustained in training prior to the 2007 Super 14 to play in this year's tournament. He was in the team that lost 12-10 to England in Marseille in the quarter-finals this month.

The Queensland captain, John Roe, said: "People sometimes forget these are really hard decisions. Europe and Japan throw a lot of money and, if you have a young family, you've got to provide for them. [Latham's] first preference would be to stay in Australia but he also wants to get paid as well as he can to support his family."

In Latham's absence the Reds endured a disastrous Super 14, finishing with the wooden spoon for the first time. "We had a terrible season," said Roe. "It's not acceptable for us, our fans or Latho. We want to get better, he wants to be a part of it. He said he wants to help Queensland get back up to the level [they were at] when he started. He's got unfinished business.

"He's one of the best full-backs in the world, if not the best, so of course we want him in our team. It is quite clear that we want him to stay; he knows that. But this contract is a very difficult decision and it's not my place to persuade him. I definitely want Latho to stay but I won't be trying to get in his ear or anything like that."

The former All Black flanker and Edinburgh coach Todd Blackadder is the new head coach of the Air New Zealand Cup side the Tasman Makos. Blackadder, 36, replaces Dennis Brown.